Recipe

Hush puppies are essential to Fried Catfish (see recipe), and they’re good with any other seafood platter, too. You make them especially good by keeping the texture light and including flavors other than that of the cornmeal. Fry them in the same oil that you used to fry fish or (even better) chicken.

Yield: Makes about eighteen hush puppies

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, for frying, preferably oil previously used for frying fish or chicken

1½ cups white self-rising cornmeal

1½ cups self-rising flour

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. salt-free Creole seasoning

½ tsp. sugar

1 cup canned corn, drained

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and membrane removed, chopped

2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1¾ cups milk

1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. Pour the oil into a heavy saucepan to a depth of 1 inch. Heat over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees.

2. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, salt, Creole seasoning, and sugar together in a small bowl. Add the corn, green onions, jalapeño, and parsley, and stir to blend well.

3. In a second, larger bowl, beat the milk, egg, and ½ cup of water together. Add the cornmeal–green onion mixture to the wet ingredients and mix with a whisk until no dry flour is visible. (Add a little more milk to the mixture if necessary. The mixture should be sticky but not runny or grainy.)

4. With a tablespoon, make balls of batter. Fry 4-6 at a time until they’re medium brown; they should float on the oil when they’re ready. Remove and drain, and allow the oil temperature to recover before adding more hush puppies.

5. Serve as an appetizer with a mixture of equal parts mayonnaise, horseradish, and sour cream, or tartar sauce. Or alongside fried seafood or chicken.

Notes

Although the original idea for hush puppies is to use the same stuff you used to coat the fish, better results come from making a batter specifically for hush puppies. I like white selfrising cornmeal.

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We'd love to hear what you think!

R Clay

This is an excellent, easy, and efficient way to make the quintessential hush puppy.

I love this Southern take on falafels, and find them an excellent addition to salads, stews, and, going way out there, a "secret ingredient" to meatloaf, mashed potatoes, crumbled over vegetables ... you just can't come to the of dishes that are enhanced by using hush puppies in one form or another.